By law, there are certain standards of health and safety that all businesses have to implement in the work place. These standards are set out in government guidelines, and include everything from ensuring the office space is big enough and light enough, to safe drinking water always being available and the right protective gear is provided to whoever needs it.

The Health and Safety Executive fully lays out the guidelines that employers must follow in order to comply with the law. It also highlights the trends in employee injuries, illnesses and even deaths.

The Health and Safety Executive covers all sectors of work in detail and individually, as well as laying out a basic set of guidelines for all work places. Specific aspects of work are also covered, including stress, noise, vibration, transport, electricity…the list goes on.
While many businesses will attempt to adhere to these guidelines, sometimes certain areas can be compromised, either through negligence or accident. Should you have an accident at work, there are a couple of steps you should take as soon as possible.

Once the accident has occurred, it should be reported to your management immediately. Failure to do so could result in the company claiming you did not incur the injury at work, leaving you with a stressful battle ahead of you.

When you have reported your accident, there should be an accident book in which you can log the event with detail of the dates and who you reported the accident to. It is also helpful for you to make a record of any emails received or sent about the accident, and to make a record of the event and dates for you to keep.

If the injury results in time away from work, you are entitled to make a claim to subsidise any lost wages. Help and information in regards to accidents and injuries at work can be found at first4lawyers.co.uk.

This is a guest post for TheEmployable